Taghairm
8th June 2010, 04:10 AM
The Arun Valley Trek
The Arun Valley Trek is a great way to leave the Solu Khumbu and deserves to be more popular.
Trek east from Puiyan (two days below Namche, past Lukla) then out to Tumlingtar on the great Arun River in 6-8 days. From there you can fly or jeep/bus back to Kathmandu. It is not an easy trek but traverses a marvellous range of geography, botany, architecture and culture and is remote and uncrowded.
We like to take eight days although it can be done in less. The track is well-formed and small simple lodges are available since this used to be the main route into Everest in the 1930s when British climber Tilman was around, but you will see very few trekkers and meet very interesting Nepalis. Lunch can be hard to find so it is sensible to carry something to eat most days in case you can’t find anything open. Some lodges are not open all year round so you may need to ask in villages sometimes for accommodation and meals.
My wife and I have trekked this route three times (in March 2007, 2008, 2010) carrying our own gear and not using any porter/guides. We are divided on whether we would start at Tumlingtar, which some guide books recommend, since the first uphill days from Tumlingtar can be very hot and tiring.
Here are some track notes which we hope will make the route more popular and so help improve the number and standard of the lodges.
1. Puiyan to Pangum (5 - 5.5hrs)
From Puiyan (2770m; sometimes called Paiya or Chutok) bridge walk 40mins towards Kharte to find a track left that heads upwards across a rockslide after a gully. A nearby rock is marked ‘Arun Valley Trek’ in yellow paint. Climb steeply then right 40mins to Khare La where there is a herder’s stone house. Say farewell to your views of the Khumbu and enjoy distant views of Pangum, left under the head of the valley, then drop SE past two bhattis after about 1hr where tea and tsampa is sometimes available. Extensive oak, beech and rhododendron forests are being turned into firewood adjoining cultivated areas.
The track from Kharte (which is favoured by some trekkers over the route above but misses the views) joins from the right after another 15mins, near two stone farmhouses. Keep left and drop in minutes to the Sherpa Hotel for lunch when open. Drop down and climb now in and out of a series of pretty valleys filled with birds and waterfalls, tending SE towards Bhalukop (‘Bear Valley’, where we heard a bear once), a small village and chorten in a saddle after 1hr. In March there can be many flowering magnolias here. Climb in 1.5hrs to Pangum (2850m; Pankong, Panggom) past six ancient mani walls.
The Himalayan Trekkers Lodge (indifferent service and loud kid’s DVDs), the New Panorama Lodge (if open) and, off the main trail to the right, Numbur Lodge (reported as OK) are your current choices in this pretty Sherpa village. A big new lodge is under construction at the lower entry to the village. You can visit Pangum Gompa, left from the New Panorama Lodge near the top of the village.
2. Pangum to Najingdingma (6 - 6.5hrs)
Climb through the village to Pangum La (3173m; Satu La) in about 45mins, noting rapid deforestation. Enjoy views of Mera Peak (6476m; in the middle at the back), of wild forested valleys and of Najingdingma (on a shelf across the valley), so close yet so far. Descend through lovely old-growth forest, tending north to two Sherpa houses where food may be available. Another 30mins brings you to the top of Sibuche (2500m, also known as Basme, Sibuje and Chatuk), with food and lodging at the Namaste Hotel and a small gompa.
The trail follows the steep ridge to the last house then drops like a stone to the invisible Hinku Khola bridge 1.5hrs jelly-knee steps down. The New Mera View Lodge at the bridge will offer limited meals and primitive sleeping in the future. Pause to enjoy the waterfalls in this wild corner, cross the high swing bridge into mossy wet jungle and climb steeply through the scattered hamlet of Gaikharka (2300m; ‘cow pasture’) where two new trekkers’ lodges are under construction at the middle and top of the village. Enter bamboo, beech and rhododendron forest on stone steps after about 1.5hrs, then climb for 1hr tending left eventually into Najingdingma (2650m, ‘wheat growing flat’, Najing) after a stone porters’ shelter.
The seasonal grazing meadows and mountains around give Najingdingma a great atmosphere and a stone gompa is now under construction. The Namaste Lodge of rustic and gastronomic fame is being upgraded to stone; the Hotel New Mera View is no longer in operation.
3. Najingdingma to Khiraule (3hrs)
We choose to take a half-day rest and wash at Khiraule (Kay-ra-ulay, sometimes shown as Khirule, Khiraunle) as the old gompa with its circle of sacred junipers brought from Darjeeling is peaceful and inspiring, the hotel is comfortable with good food, and the next day breaks the huge climb from Bung to Sanam which many undertake; but of course you can continue to Bung after lunch at Khiraule if you want. This is an easy day with echoes of a Sherpa kingdom lost after a long-ago war with the Rais, whose culture is centred on Bung.
From Najingdingma climb for 1.5hrs, initially through a lovely forest of daphne and rhododendron, on stairs to the obvious notch of Surke La (3085m; Sipke La). The bamboo regrowth follows a fire in 1992 and the climb can be dangerously icy after snow. Be surprised by a new intrusive bhatti right in the pass, then drop your rucksack and climb up stairs steeply left 10mins for a great 360° lookout, including views of folded blue hills to Bung, Gudel and Salpa Bhanjyang, your next pass. From Surke La, drop down 10mins to a new village Charakot and a sign welcoming you to the Makalu-Barun National Park. Look around - this was virgin forest in 2006 except for the fire.
The track left (north) climbs towards Mera Peak, the track straight down goes to Cheskam, and a higher track to the right goes to Talkharka. The track you want drops from the central square and is the the lower track on the right (south) through old-growth rhododendron forest which is being extensively logged.
After a while you will emerge into a clearing with a view towards your target in about 1.5hrs, huge old mani walls leading to an ancient stupa to the south, with the track traversing in and out of forest and flowing streams. From the stupa, take in the extensive views to Bung and the mighty Hongu Valley, which produces most of the rice and meat for the Solu Khumbu. Immediately below is a circle of giant trees around the Khiraule Gompa and in 20mins you’re there by turning left down stairs off the main track to Bung.
The friendly owners of the Himalaya Lodge, adjacent to the gompa, are restoring this once highly revered building and grounds but no lama is in residence.
4. Khiraule to Gudel (4 – 4.5hrs)
Enjoy breakfast outside with a grandstand view of Bung, Gudel and your next pass, Salpa Bhanjyang, above and to the right of Gudel. Look carefully in the huge landscape and you will see old mani walls and ruined Sherpa houses, relics of the long-ago Sherpa-Rai conflict that gives the area the feel of Numenor from Lord of the Rings.
Allow about 2hrs to reach Bung (1900-1300m) by the obvious track below the gompa and through the blue-roofed schoolyard. You are leaving the area of Buddhist influence and will see decaying chortens and mani walls in the first hour. Bung is the centre of Rai culture, a collection of intensive smallholdings covering the hillside from 1900m down to the Hongu Khola bridge at 1320m. Note the whitewashed Rai houses, often thatched, with racks of drying maize protected from vermin, pigs, the varied agriculture and heavily pollarded trees. The long-drop pig toilets are being phased out. The Rai, once called Kirat, are nominally Hindu and claim to be the original inhabitants of Nepal before Hindu tribes arrived from the south and Buddhist tribes from the north, but they have no temples and practice animism.
Entering Bung, stick in the second bamboo-lined central gully, even though it looks like the local rubbish tip, and emerge right to drop into the ‘centre’ of town, where you will find the Pumori Lodge (lunch about 11am) opposite the entrance office for the Makalu-Barun National Park (Rs1000 entry and show your TIMS card). The Mera Peak Lodge (very ordinary) is nearby, the Sagarmatha Lodge (our choice if staying in Bung) is at the very bottom of the village with owners who cook great Rai food.
Descend for 10mins to the bridge, climb 1.5hrs through millet, potato, maize and rice terraces on good stairs with shade and running water for much of the way to the clean Rai village of Gudel (1900m)
Stay in the friendly Namaste Lodge with a garden and views of Bung spread hugely over the opposite hill. A bit higher up is the Kopila Lodge. The early explorer Tilman immortalises this walk with a limerick:
For dreadfulness, naught can excel
The prospect of Bung from Gudel;
And words die away on the tongue
When we look back on Gudel from Bung
And his fellow-climber Shipton said, “There is no greater vision of hell than the view from Bung to Gudel”, but actually it is beautiful and quite short.
Arun, Tumlingtar, Salpa, Bung
THE REST OF THE TREK IS IN A SECOND POST.....
Howard and Sue Dengate
Australia
June 2010.
There's a printable PDF version of the above at
http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/taghairm/nepal/The%20Arun%20Valley%20Trek.pdf
The Arun Valley Trek is a great way to leave the Solu Khumbu and deserves to be more popular.
Trek east from Puiyan (two days below Namche, past Lukla) then out to Tumlingtar on the great Arun River in 6-8 days. From there you can fly or jeep/bus back to Kathmandu. It is not an easy trek but traverses a marvellous range of geography, botany, architecture and culture and is remote and uncrowded.
We like to take eight days although it can be done in less. The track is well-formed and small simple lodges are available since this used to be the main route into Everest in the 1930s when British climber Tilman was around, but you will see very few trekkers and meet very interesting Nepalis. Lunch can be hard to find so it is sensible to carry something to eat most days in case you can’t find anything open. Some lodges are not open all year round so you may need to ask in villages sometimes for accommodation and meals.
My wife and I have trekked this route three times (in March 2007, 2008, 2010) carrying our own gear and not using any porter/guides. We are divided on whether we would start at Tumlingtar, which some guide books recommend, since the first uphill days from Tumlingtar can be very hot and tiring.
Here are some track notes which we hope will make the route more popular and so help improve the number and standard of the lodges.
1. Puiyan to Pangum (5 - 5.5hrs)
From Puiyan (2770m; sometimes called Paiya or Chutok) bridge walk 40mins towards Kharte to find a track left that heads upwards across a rockslide after a gully. A nearby rock is marked ‘Arun Valley Trek’ in yellow paint. Climb steeply then right 40mins to Khare La where there is a herder’s stone house. Say farewell to your views of the Khumbu and enjoy distant views of Pangum, left under the head of the valley, then drop SE past two bhattis after about 1hr where tea and tsampa is sometimes available. Extensive oak, beech and rhododendron forests are being turned into firewood adjoining cultivated areas.
The track from Kharte (which is favoured by some trekkers over the route above but misses the views) joins from the right after another 15mins, near two stone farmhouses. Keep left and drop in minutes to the Sherpa Hotel for lunch when open. Drop down and climb now in and out of a series of pretty valleys filled with birds and waterfalls, tending SE towards Bhalukop (‘Bear Valley’, where we heard a bear once), a small village and chorten in a saddle after 1hr. In March there can be many flowering magnolias here. Climb in 1.5hrs to Pangum (2850m; Pankong, Panggom) past six ancient mani walls.
The Himalayan Trekkers Lodge (indifferent service and loud kid’s DVDs), the New Panorama Lodge (if open) and, off the main trail to the right, Numbur Lodge (reported as OK) are your current choices in this pretty Sherpa village. A big new lodge is under construction at the lower entry to the village. You can visit Pangum Gompa, left from the New Panorama Lodge near the top of the village.
2. Pangum to Najingdingma (6 - 6.5hrs)
Climb through the village to Pangum La (3173m; Satu La) in about 45mins, noting rapid deforestation. Enjoy views of Mera Peak (6476m; in the middle at the back), of wild forested valleys and of Najingdingma (on a shelf across the valley), so close yet so far. Descend through lovely old-growth forest, tending north to two Sherpa houses where food may be available. Another 30mins brings you to the top of Sibuche (2500m, also known as Basme, Sibuje and Chatuk), with food and lodging at the Namaste Hotel and a small gompa.
The trail follows the steep ridge to the last house then drops like a stone to the invisible Hinku Khola bridge 1.5hrs jelly-knee steps down. The New Mera View Lodge at the bridge will offer limited meals and primitive sleeping in the future. Pause to enjoy the waterfalls in this wild corner, cross the high swing bridge into mossy wet jungle and climb steeply through the scattered hamlet of Gaikharka (2300m; ‘cow pasture’) where two new trekkers’ lodges are under construction at the middle and top of the village. Enter bamboo, beech and rhododendron forest on stone steps after about 1.5hrs, then climb for 1hr tending left eventually into Najingdingma (2650m, ‘wheat growing flat’, Najing) after a stone porters’ shelter.
The seasonal grazing meadows and mountains around give Najingdingma a great atmosphere and a stone gompa is now under construction. The Namaste Lodge of rustic and gastronomic fame is being upgraded to stone; the Hotel New Mera View is no longer in operation.
3. Najingdingma to Khiraule (3hrs)
We choose to take a half-day rest and wash at Khiraule (Kay-ra-ulay, sometimes shown as Khirule, Khiraunle) as the old gompa with its circle of sacred junipers brought from Darjeeling is peaceful and inspiring, the hotel is comfortable with good food, and the next day breaks the huge climb from Bung to Sanam which many undertake; but of course you can continue to Bung after lunch at Khiraule if you want. This is an easy day with echoes of a Sherpa kingdom lost after a long-ago war with the Rais, whose culture is centred on Bung.
From Najingdingma climb for 1.5hrs, initially through a lovely forest of daphne and rhododendron, on stairs to the obvious notch of Surke La (3085m; Sipke La). The bamboo regrowth follows a fire in 1992 and the climb can be dangerously icy after snow. Be surprised by a new intrusive bhatti right in the pass, then drop your rucksack and climb up stairs steeply left 10mins for a great 360° lookout, including views of folded blue hills to Bung, Gudel and Salpa Bhanjyang, your next pass. From Surke La, drop down 10mins to a new village Charakot and a sign welcoming you to the Makalu-Barun National Park. Look around - this was virgin forest in 2006 except for the fire.
The track left (north) climbs towards Mera Peak, the track straight down goes to Cheskam, and a higher track to the right goes to Talkharka. The track you want drops from the central square and is the the lower track on the right (south) through old-growth rhododendron forest which is being extensively logged.
After a while you will emerge into a clearing with a view towards your target in about 1.5hrs, huge old mani walls leading to an ancient stupa to the south, with the track traversing in and out of forest and flowing streams. From the stupa, take in the extensive views to Bung and the mighty Hongu Valley, which produces most of the rice and meat for the Solu Khumbu. Immediately below is a circle of giant trees around the Khiraule Gompa and in 20mins you’re there by turning left down stairs off the main track to Bung.
The friendly owners of the Himalaya Lodge, adjacent to the gompa, are restoring this once highly revered building and grounds but no lama is in residence.
4. Khiraule to Gudel (4 – 4.5hrs)
Enjoy breakfast outside with a grandstand view of Bung, Gudel and your next pass, Salpa Bhanjyang, above and to the right of Gudel. Look carefully in the huge landscape and you will see old mani walls and ruined Sherpa houses, relics of the long-ago Sherpa-Rai conflict that gives the area the feel of Numenor from Lord of the Rings.
Allow about 2hrs to reach Bung (1900-1300m) by the obvious track below the gompa and through the blue-roofed schoolyard. You are leaving the area of Buddhist influence and will see decaying chortens and mani walls in the first hour. Bung is the centre of Rai culture, a collection of intensive smallholdings covering the hillside from 1900m down to the Hongu Khola bridge at 1320m. Note the whitewashed Rai houses, often thatched, with racks of drying maize protected from vermin, pigs, the varied agriculture and heavily pollarded trees. The long-drop pig toilets are being phased out. The Rai, once called Kirat, are nominally Hindu and claim to be the original inhabitants of Nepal before Hindu tribes arrived from the south and Buddhist tribes from the north, but they have no temples and practice animism.
Entering Bung, stick in the second bamboo-lined central gully, even though it looks like the local rubbish tip, and emerge right to drop into the ‘centre’ of town, where you will find the Pumori Lodge (lunch about 11am) opposite the entrance office for the Makalu-Barun National Park (Rs1000 entry and show your TIMS card). The Mera Peak Lodge (very ordinary) is nearby, the Sagarmatha Lodge (our choice if staying in Bung) is at the very bottom of the village with owners who cook great Rai food.
Descend for 10mins to the bridge, climb 1.5hrs through millet, potato, maize and rice terraces on good stairs with shade and running water for much of the way to the clean Rai village of Gudel (1900m)
Stay in the friendly Namaste Lodge with a garden and views of Bung spread hugely over the opposite hill. A bit higher up is the Kopila Lodge. The early explorer Tilman immortalises this walk with a limerick:
For dreadfulness, naught can excel
The prospect of Bung from Gudel;
And words die away on the tongue
When we look back on Gudel from Bung
And his fellow-climber Shipton said, “There is no greater vision of hell than the view from Bung to Gudel”, but actually it is beautiful and quite short.
Arun, Tumlingtar, Salpa, Bung
THE REST OF THE TREK IS IN A SECOND POST.....
Howard and Sue Dengate
Australia
June 2010.
There's a printable PDF version of the above at
http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/taghairm/nepal/The%20Arun%20Valley%20Trek.pdf